Roberts radio repair

nice evening

my Roberts "Revival" radio has ceased giving me a clear signal on LW. I thought that the interference was from somthing next door but the nighbours have changed and no one was in the house for weeks and i still couldn't get a decent signal. Any idea of the problem, what's causing it, how to fix it, where to go to fix it??
any useful advice would be much appreciated.

PauloMN

Before you assume the radio has a fault, double check different things you may have plugged in that could be causing interference. A good way to do this is run the radio on battery tuned to somewhere you can hear the noise, and go to your circuit breakers and switch off each switch until the interference goes (if it does go). By doing this, you can narrow down the source of the interference to one cause (or number of causes). If the interference is still present after switching off everything, at least you know the problem is not a noisy device in your home.

I had an issue here with this pulsating interference on some parts of the HF band which was driving me mad. Turned out to be transformers from cordless phone handsets. We have 3 of them in the house, and two cause a racket on HF in certain places. Mobile phone chargers are another nightmare for interference. Houses are full of these transformers for various different things - a lot of which have poor/no shielding - and are plugged in 24/7.

nice evening

thanks for the email Paulo,
Tried turning off all power supply a fuse box- went thru all circuits but no change to mega- interference...? I might take it to a friends house and try it. If its still doesn't work any ideas?

PauloMN

nice evening wrote: »

thanks for the email Paulo,
Tried turning off all power supply a fuse box- went thru all circuits but no change to mega- interference...? I might take it to a friends house and try it. If its still doesn't work any ideas?

Try another LW radio in the same location if you can, just to rule out anything being wrong with your Roberts, but I doubt it's the radio tbh unless it was dropped or something.

If you have the same problem with another radio, and you've ruled out any interference sources in your own home, there's not a whole lot more you can do to be honest. You might try using the radio in different locations in the house or turning it around where you are using it (the internal LW/MW antenna in portable radios is a ferrite bar with lots of wire wrapped around it and has directional properties). You might find turning the radio to a specific point maximises the signal and minimises the interference. What are you listening to on LW by the way?

The only other alternative might be to try an external antenna, like a loop antenna - but I suspect that radio might not have an external antenna socket.

See these links for some info:
http://www.dxing.com/lw.htm
http://www.hard-core-dx.com/nordicdx/antenna/loop/amloop.html

nice evening

Paulo,
Thanks again. I will try another radio, as I have access to one. The links are useful background- the loop antennae sounds like it might be useful. Will post results...

Capt'n Midnight

If looking for a particular station you can probably get a live stream over the internet or from a satellite dish.

You could also try the radio in a different location far from overhead power lines if possible.

I take it the radio is OK on MW / FM ?

watty

It's ComReg's main duty to regulate the Spectrum.

LW, MW, SW, VHF, UHF etc are protected by Irish and EU law (Wireless Telegraphy Act & EMC directives). Comreg has a Statutory duty to investigate complaints and shut down illegal levels of Interference or Illegal Transmissions.

Your right to listen to broadcasts without "jamming" is protected under Geneva conventions.

Of course Comreg only cares about collecting licence revenue and "level playing field" competition between large Multi-nationals, forgetting that Competition is only ONE means to an end (better deal for consumers) and Direct Revenue raising isn't supposed to be the purpose of licences at all, but to have the best infrastructure.

Do complain to them anyway, even though they will not do anything!

sensormatic

"We shall not flag or fail. We shall go on to the end. We shall fight in France, we shall fight on the seas and oceans, we shall fight with growing confidence and growing strength in the air. We shall defend our island, whatever the cost may be. We shall fight on the beaches, we shall fight on the landing-grounds, we shall fight in the fields and in the streets, we shall fight in the hills. We shall never surrender!"


we shall listen in peace

pixbyjohn

nice evening wrote: »

my Roberts "Revival" radio has ceased giving me a clear signal on LW. I thought that the interference was from somthing next door but the nighbours have changed and no one was in the house for weeks and i still couldn't get a decent signal. Any idea of the problem, what's causing it, how to fix it, where to go to fix it??
any useful advice would be much appreciated.

Whats the latest on this please, just to clear up all the mystery.